Feb/March Newsletter

Each year we rely heavily on parental support and contributions throughout the Lenten period. We are acutely aware of the difficulties of the present economic climate but we hope that together we can raise enough money to make a difference.

As in previous years each class and year group will be organising special money raising events throughout February and March in a bid to raise as much money as possible, we will host a non-uniform/Green day on Friday 16th March.

Additional information about the campaign can be found at the Trócaire website at www.trocaire.org. Thank you for your continuing support.

The P5 Bring and Buy Sale for Trócaire, will take place on Friday 23rd March and our P6 Cake and Bun Sale will take place on Thursday 22nd March.

Additional information about the campaign can be found at the Trócaire website at www.trocaire.org. Thank you for your continuing support.

School App

The school has invested in its own smart phone App for improved communication purposes.

The App is now live and will replace the school texting system from Friday 9th March which we will no longer use.

The App has greater functionality with the ability to receive notifications just as a text message, as well as documents directly from the school. Additional content from our website will be added to the App over the next few weeks.

Please download the App to your phone or tablet from goggle or apple stores. Please note the App is not supported on Windows phones. After successfully installing the App please choose the groups you which to belong to. Please make sure you choose your child’s class and year group. Even if you have already downloaded the App you can still select the appropriate groups by clicking on the ‘group tab’ at the top of the screen. This will ensure you receive specific notifications for your child’s class and year group.

Time 4 Me

Referral forms for our Barnardo’s Time 4 Me counsellor are avaTime 4 Me are available to download from the school website or print from the school app. Completed forms should be returned to the office marked for the attention of Mrs Flanagan or Mr O’Hagan.

Afterschool Club

Children attending the Afterschool Club must be booked in advance via the school office or directly through Afterschool Club on 07549097163. A space cannot be guaranteed for children not booked to attend. All payments should be made to Julie in the office.

Table Tennis

Congratulations to our Table Tennis Team who received the bronze medal in the Ulster Primary School Table Tennis Team championship at Lisburn. Well done to Rory Comer, Karol Trebunia, Patryk Bebenkowski and Josh Peniero. This is a fantastic achievement for the boys. Thank you to Mrs McClements for escorting the boys.

Netball League

Well done and congratulations to the following girls who successfully won all three of their qualifying matches for the ABC Netball League, due to be held in April. Well done Niamh Lynch, Nicole Lavery, Lucia Orlate-Wade, Lydia Newbert, Meghan Mc Givern, Eimear Simpson, Clara Cunningham and Kate Smith.

PTA

Thank you to all our children and parents for the fantastic support for the Coin Drive. Over £1,000 was raised from our annual Coin Drive. A final count will be made shortly. My gratitude to all the parents who gave up their time to help count all the coins. Mrs Morrow’s P7 class collected the heaviest weight of coins and will receive a prize from the PTA.

Registration forms for the Run on Sunday 29th April, commencing at 11.00am from St Patrick’s, are available from to download from the school website or from the school office. Please return Fun Run/10k/5k entry forms to the school office.Registration is also possible at www.athleticni.org/Fixtures/Seapatrick-10k-and-5k

NSPCC Assemblies & Workshops

Thank you to the NSPCC for the Assemblies & Workshops this week. The NSPCC’s Speak out. Stay safe. programme is a nationwide programme that will be visiting every school to make sure pupils have the knowledge and understanding they need to stay safe from abuse. We hope to organise a workshop for parents in the near future.

World Book Day

Well done to all the children who dressed up for World Book Day on Tuesday. Thank you to the generosity of our parents who donated to the school fund.

Dates

Green Day- Friday 16th March.

First Communion for P4 children will take place on Saturday 12th May in St Therese at 11.00am.

Easter Holidays- School closes at 11.15am on Thursday 29th March untill Friday 30th March. School will reopen as normal on Monday 9th April.

P7 Shannaghmore Residential visit – Week beginning Monday 9th April.

Confirmation

Well done to all our P7 children who made their Confirmation on Saturday in St Therese. Thank you to the Choir and our musicians for the wonderful singing and music. Thank you to all the staff for making it a very special day for the children.

Please use the drop off bays in the school. Please do not drop off at the gate or zebra crossings or the entrance gate at this blocks access and is potentially dangerous.

Children can access both playgrounds from the bays. Supervision is in place from 8.45a.m. There is a set of steps next to the nursery which lead directly into the bottom playground. Children do not need to cross any roads or walk through the car park when using these steps.

On wet or icy days children may enter their classrooms directly from 8.50am. P3 and P4 children may use the main entrance, there normal entrance, at this time. There will be no access before 8.50am.

Please note the school carpark is for staff parking only. There is no parking or waiting permitted at any time.

Please take extra car when crossing the Scarva Road. Please only cross when the lights indicate that it is safe to as children tend to follow adults at the crossing and at times do not check the lights.

Eramus +

This week St Mary's host members of staff and children from our Eramus partners from Bulgaria, Spain, Italy, England, Ireland, Croatia, Sweden and Estonia. Our colleagues will participate in various teaching activities and training courses during their time with us.